Immigration and jobs.Many thanks for publishing Herman Daly's excellent article. I wonder, though, if Robert Ayres read it. Daly points out that industrialized in·dus·tri·al·ize v. in·dus·tri·al·ized, in·dus·tri·al·iz·ing, in·dus·tri·al·iz·es v.tr. 1. To develop industry in (a country or society, for example). 2. countries could supply their own labor needs if all work paid a living wage with safe working conditions. Ayres assumes it's okay for America to offer jobs so ill-paid and unsafe that only the very desperate would take them. (Americans who refuse such jobs are "pampered pam·per tr.v. pam·pered, pam·per·ing, pam·pers 1. To treat with excessive indulgence: pampered their child. 2. .") Ayres also claims that immigrants "pay more in taxes than they get back in social services." This is highly debatable, and debated. For instance, the Summer 2004 issue of Californians for Population Stabilization's newsletter says, "How can an immigrant family in California, with two or three children and an average income of under $25,000 a year, be an economic asset when the annual cost of educating three children is $21,600--not counting free lunch and breakfast programs and after-school help, federal subsidies of state and county programs for immigrant health care, welfare, crime, incarceration Confinement in a jail or prison; imprisonment. Police officers and other law enforcement officers are authorized by federal, state, and local lawmakers to arrest and confine persons suspected of crimes. The judicial system is authorized to confine persons convicted of crimes. , and housing, or the billions the feds give to private nonprofit groups for language assistance, rights litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , and hundreds of special programs for indigent indigent 1) n. a person so poor and needy that he/she cannot provide the necessities of life (food, clothing, decent shelter) for himself/herself. 2) n. one without sufficient income to afford a lawyer for defense in a criminal case. and disabled immigrants?" There is also the price paid by workers in areas where immigrants compete for jobs. Professor George Borjas (Harvard) estimates that because of wages depressed by flooding of the labor market labor market A place where labor is exchanged for wages; an LM is defined by geography, education and technical expertise, occupation, licensure or certification requirements, and job experience with newcomers, American workers lose $190 billion annually (cited in the August 2004 Carrying Capacity Network newsletter). Again, Daly covers this very well: "Labor bears the cost of reduced wage income; capital enjoys the benefit of reduced wage costs." I might add that middle-class liberals have the pleasure of imagining that unlimited immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. is a good deed, since it is not middle-class jobs that are usually affected. Ayres and Daly agree that rich countries must--judiciously--help poorer ones. This is for our good as well as theirs. However, considering the coming end of cheap fossil fuels, and the present lack of planning for that eventuality, plus the fact that America's high population growth and prosperity are based on cheap fossil fuels, it's hard to be optimistic. Still, open and honest discussion of the issues, as in Daly's article especially, is an essential beginning. OLIVIA EIELSON Berkeley, California |
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